Maleficent: Mistress of Evil
| screenplay = | story = | based on = }} | starring = | music = Geoff Zanelli | cinematography = Henry Braham | editing = | studio = | distributor = Warner Bros. Pictures (North America) Buena Vista International (International) | released = | runtime = 118 minutes | country = United States | language = English | budget = $185 million | gross = $293.5 million }} 'Maleficent: Mistress of Evil' is a 2019 American dark fantasy adventure film produced by Warner Bros. Pictures, Walt Disney Pictures, Village Roadshow Pictures, Roth Films, American Zoetrope and Bron Studios, directed by Joachim Rønning, and written by Linda Woolverton, Micah Fitzerman-Blue, and Noah Harpster. It is a sequel to the 2014 film ''Maleficent, with Angelina Jolie returning to portray the title role. Elle Fanning, Sam Riley, Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple, and Lesley Manville also return to their previous roles, with Harris Dickinson replacing Brenton Thwaites from the first film and Chiwetel Ejiofor, Ed Skrein, and Michelle Pfeiffer joining the cast as new characters. After the release of the first film in May 2014, Jolie stated a sequel was possible. The project was officially announced the following June and Jolie signed on in April 2016. Rønning, who co-directed Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017) for Disney, was hired to direct the film in October 2017 and the rest of the cast was added or confirmed in May 2018, with filming beginning that month at Pinewood Studios in England, lasting through August. Maleficent: Mistress of Evil was released in the United States on October 18, 2019 by Warner Bros. Pictures with Buena Vista International also released on International, and has grossed $293 million worldwide. The film received mixed reviews from critics, with praise for the performances of Jolie, Fanning, Ejiofor, and Pfeiffer, but criticism aimed at the "muddled plot and overly artificial visuals". The film received an Academy Award nomination for Best Makeup and Hairstyling at the 92nd Academy Awards. Plot In the five years since King Stefan's death, Aurora has reigned as Queen of the Moors while Maleficent serves as its protector. Despite her heroic actions, Maleficent is deemed a villain by the neighboring kingdom of Ulstead, home to Prince Phillip. Diaval, Maleficent's raven and loyal confidant, overhears Phillip proposing to Aurora. When he relays this to Maleficent, she warns Aurora against the union, though Aurora insists she and Phillip will prove her wrong. Phillip's parents, King John and Queen Ingrith, host an intimate dinner. Maleficent maintains her composure after Ingrith tauntingly mentions the sleeping curse once placed on Aurora, and recalls King Stefan's death. She openly accuses Maleficent of killing the two human fairy poachers last seen near the Moors. When Ingrith dismisses Maleficent's maternal relationship with Aurora, Maleficent reacts angrily and seemingly curses King John, who falls into a deep slumber. Maleficent proclaims her innocent but Aurora disbelieves her. Phillip urges his mother to try and awaken the King with a kiss. The queen resists, knowing this will fail because she does not love King John. Maleficent flees the castle. The Queen's servant, Gerda, wounds Maleficent with an iron arrow, causing her to fall into the ocean. A mysterious winged creature rescues Maleficent, who awakens in an underground cavern where fairies like herself have been in hiding. Among them is Conall, their peaceful leader who saved Maleficent, and Borra, a warlike fairy who favors open conflict with humans. Maleficent is among the last creatures known as Dark Fae, powerful fairies forced into hiding and driven to near extinction by human oppression. Maleficent is also the last descendant from the Phoenix, an ancient and powerful Dark Fae ancestor. Because her magic is more powerful than the other Fae, Conall and Borra believe Maleficent is instrumental in ending the conflict with humans, either by peace or war. Meanwhile, Aurora grows disillusioned being an Ulstead noblewoman but is happy that all Moors Folk are invited to the royal wedding. Aurora discovers that Queen Ingrith hates all Moors fairy folk, resenting their well-being during a long-ago time when her kingdom suffered, and blaming them for her brother's death. The Queen secretly plots to eradicate all fairies and woodland beings using iron weapons and a lethal crimson powder. Aurora also learns that Queen Ingrith cursed King John, using Maleficent's cursed spindle. When the Moor Folk arrive, they are trapped inside the chapel. At Queen Ingrith's command, Gerda, unleashes the crimson powder. The fairy Flittle selflessly sacrifices herself to save Moors folk while the other fairies, Knotgrass and Thistlewit, cause Gerda to fall to her death. The Dark Fae launch an assault on Ulstead but soldiers begin massacring them until Maleficent, channeling the Phoenix power, joins the battle. She nearly kills Queen Ingrith but Aurora appeals to Maleficent's humanity to spare her, and declares that Maleficent is her mother. The Queen fires her crossbow. Maleficent saves Aurora, but is struck by the arrow, dissolving her into ashes. As Aurora's tears fall on the ashes, Maleficent is reborn as a Phoenix. Prince Phillip forges peace between the fairies and humans and the Ulstead soldiers stand down. The Queen is transformed into a goat as punishment for her crimes. Maleficent reverts to her fairy form and gives Aurora and Phillip her blessing. She destroys the spindle and its curse, awakening King John from his slumber. After Aurora and Philip are wed, Maleficent flies away with other Dark Fae. She promises she'll return for "the christening". She then winks at Aurora and Phillip flies off into the sky. Cast * Angelina Jolie as Maleficent * Elle Fanning as Princess Aurora * Michelle Pfeiffer as Queen Ingrith * Chiwetel Ejiofor as Conall * Sam Riley as Diaval * Ed Skrein as Borra * Harris Dickinson as Prince Phillip * Imelda Staunton as Knotgrass * Juno Temple as Thistlewit * Lesley Manville as Flittle * Robert Lindsay as King John * Warwick Davis as Lickspittle * Jenn Murray as Gerda * David Gyasi as Percival * Judith Shekoni as Shrike * Miyavi as Udo * John Carew * Freddie Wise as Young Peasant Production Development On June 3, 2014, following the release of the first film, Angelina Jolie hinted that a sequel to Maleficent was a possibility. On June 15, 2015, Walt Disney Pictures announced that the sequel was in the works and that Linda Woolverton would return to write the screenplay of the film. Although Jolie's return to the sequel was not yet certain, the script was intended to be written with her in mind. In addition, Joe Roth was reported to return as producer of the film. On April 25, 2016, Disney officially confirmed Jolie's return as the title character. On August 29, 2017, it was reported that Jez Butterworth would rewrite Woolverton's script while Roth was confirmed as returning as producer. In September 2017, Jolie stated that they "have been working on the script and this is going to be a really strong sequel." On October 3, 2017, Deadline reported that the film would be directed by Joachim Rønning and it would start filming in the first quarter of 2018. Casting In April 2018, Ed Skrein was cast in the film to play a dark fey, with Elle Fanning returning to play Princess Aurora from the previous film. Michelle Pfeiffer was also added as character described as a queen, later clarified to be an evil queen named Queen Ingrith. In May 2018, it was announced that Harris Dickinson would replace Brenton Thwaites in the role of Prince Phillip, due to scheduling conflicts with the latter actor. Later it was also confirmed that Jenn Murray, David Gyasi, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Robert Lindsay had also joined the cast. Sam Riley, Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple and Lesley Manville were also confirmed to reprise their roles from the prior film. In June 2018, Judith Shekoni joined the cast. Filming Principal photography began on May 29, 2018, at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire, England. Filming wrapped on August 24, 2018. Post-production The visual effects were provided by Moving Picture Company and Mill Film, supervised by Jessica Norman, Damien Stumpf, Brian Litson, Ferran Domenech, and Laurent Gillet, with Gary Brozenich serving as the Overall Supervisor. Music On May 22, 2019, it was revealed that the film's score would be composed by Geoff Zanelli, replacing James Newton Howard from the previous film. The film marks Zanelli and Rønning's second collaboration, after Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. Zanelli said that "the storytelling in Maleficent: Mistress of Evil is fantastic", for which he said that "writing film's score is a dream come true". On September 20, 2019, the song "You Can't Stop the Girl" by Bebe Rexha, from the film's soundtrack, was released as a single. Release The film was released on October 18, 2019, by Warner Bros. Pictures in North America and Buena Vista Internatnional in Internatnional, moving up from its previously announced date of May 29, 2020. Marketing The first teaser trailer for the film was released on May 13, 2019. On July 8, 2019, the official trailer for the film was released, in which Ejiofor's character was revealed. On September 4, 2019 Disney and Warner Bros. released a behind-the-scenes featurette in which the cast talk about the evolution of Maleficent's personality and some of the moral challenges each of the characters face in the story. On September 10, Disney and Warner Bros. released a black and white sneak peek detailing the makeup process to transform Angelina Jolie into Maleficent. Home media Maleficent: Mistress of Evil was released by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment in North America and Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment in International on Digital HD on December 31, 2019, followed by a 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD release on January 14, 2020.https://theslanted.com/2019/12/36645/maleficent-mistress-of-evil-digital-release-blu-ray/ Reception Box office , Maleficent: Mistress of Evil has grossed $113.9 million in the United States and Canada, and $377.8 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $491.7 million. It was estimated the film would need to gross $400–475 million worldwide in order to break-even, and around $500 million in order to turn a profit. In the United States and Canada, the film was released alongside Zombieland: Double Tap and was initially projected to gross $45–50 million from 3,790 theaters in its opening weekend. However, after making $12.5 million on its first day (including $2.3 million from Thursday night previews), estimates were lowered to $38 million. It went on to debut to $36.9 million, finishing first at the box office but marking a 47% decline from the $69.4 million opening of the first film. The lower-than-expected opening was blamed on the five years between installments, mixed critical reviews and competition from fellow releases. In its second weekend, the film made $19.4 million, retaining the top spot at the box office, before falling to third place in its third weekend with $13.1 million. The film was released in India and declared as below average in Chennai Box Office. Critical response The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported the film holds an approval rating of 40% based on 246 reviews, with an average rating of 5.09/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "While it's far from cursed, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil too rarely supports its impressive cast and visuals with enough magical storytelling to justify its existence." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 43 out of 100 based on 40 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, the same score as the first film, while those at PostTrak gave it 4.5 out of 5 stars and a 59% "definite recommend". Accolades Notes References }} External links * * Category:2010s fantasy films Category:2010s sequel films Category:American fantasy adventure films Category:American films Category:American sequel films Category:Dark fantasy films Category:Films about fairies and sprites Category:Films about princesses Category:Films about royalty Category:Films about witchcraft Category:Films set in castles Category:Films set in the Middle Ages Category:Films based on Sleeping Beauty Category:Films directed by Joachim Rønning Category:Films produced by Angelina Jolie Category:Films produced by Joe Roth Category:Films shot in the United Kingdom Category:Films with screenplays by Linda Woolverton Category:Sword and sorcery films Category:Walt Disney Pictures films Category:Warner Bros. films Category:Village Roadshow Pictures films Category:American Zoetrope films Category:Film scores by Geoff Zanelli